July 5 (Mon) - [Delayed] Return home.

Well, our travels yesterday went off our master plan.
I guess it was the lack of funding that we decided to change things up, but either way - part of it was because we were unprepared and part of it was just bad luck.

I'll explain through pictures, I suppose. However - it should be noted that we weren't home until about 1:30AM South Korea time yesterday. :P.. so I waited until the morning to post.

The start of the day seemed fine and dandy.

We ate a nice neverending supply of mandu - or "water dumplings"... boiled and filled with pork for breakfast. The side is soy sauce to dip them. So, that was sufficiently filling. Though, it made my stomach feel weird + have dumpling breath all day xD

After breakfast (served at 8:30 AM) we had about another hour to finish packing/gather our stuff, etc... so, we left the house at 9:40 AM. As the new plan went - Jon had family engagements in the afternoon, so we were just going to be dropped off at the airport.

So, luggage in hand, we went inside and met up with one of Aimee's friends that actually worked at a Chinese restaurant here. We didn't converse long, but after she denied us free luggage storage (xD), we had to go downstairs and put it in storage... Cost an unfortunate $3... (lunch), but we were check in luggage free for the rest of the day (I still had 2 heavy bags of carry on?)...

Previously, the plan laid out for today was that we would visit the botanical gardens... but after asking about buses, we discovered that it would be a little over $7 in transportation costs... then another $7 to get in the door. Plus, it was outside... and hot. :p So, being poor, we opted to find something else to do. It's not that I didn't exactly have the money - it's just that if I went, I wouldn't have enough money left on my bus card to get home from the Gimpo Airport in Seoul... The minimum charge is about $10... :(

So, instead - we looked through a jillion pamphlets to find something cheaper to do.

We decided upon a nearby history museum (as if we hadn't seen enough of that?) - but entrance was free... bus fare was in-city.

All worked out... until we got on and rode a bit -- bus driver told us the museum was closed today. :( .... and we had at least 8 more hours to kill - so, we rode the bus to the last stop: the Samyang Blacksand Beach. :)

And you know - for being on an island as long as we'd been... we hadn't seen the beach. :o So, I guess in many ways - it was way more fortunate that we just went straight there. Still free admission... xD

A note about the bathrooms we'd used in Jeju: they only have toilet paper dispensers on the outside of the stalls... so, before going to the toilet - we made sure to grab a wad. :P

The beach was amazing.

I mean, I'm sure there are nicer beaches elsewhere around the island... but really - this was the best part of my trip to Jeju. It was cool, refreshing (unlike any other day), and fairly vacant :) We passed time drawing things in the sand until it started to get a little hot.

So, we walked to the covered boardwalk to cool off and watched the tide come in.

We finally came to our senses and took off our shoes to wade in the ocean.

That's when things got good!
I didn't bring my camera with me then, so I don't have close up shots.. but you can imagine wading.

I was wearing shorts :D.. perfect.

The water was cool... and the day was warm.

That passed some more time. After that, we went to sit again, dry off, and nom on some of our leftover snacks from last night... + watched an ant take our crumb and try to walk with it.

Very chill.

After that... we went under the better veranda and just talked and planned the rest of our time together. One more week and lots to do! This spot was higher up, so there was an amazing sea breeze as well. Natural AC :)

So, about 4 + hours after we'd arrived, we decided to head back to the airport for lunch/dinner. xD

We took the same bus back - but this time it took over an hour. It's not that we were any farther, it's just that it was peak time to pick up shoppers and kids. The bus driver warned us we might want to switch buses to get there faster, but we had plenty of time to loose... so.. we rode the bus all for an hour and 20 min. xD The driver asked us if we were going to be late... but of course, we quelled his fears when we said our flight was at 9:15PM.

Once we were back at HQ, we walked around every corner to figure out the best spot. It really wasn't that big, so it didn't take long.

We settled on this average cafe.

Ordered a hamburger and a tuna sandwich. All just average. No flavor, really. Warm toast though.

Since we'd also saved a lot of money today -we wanted to spend some on our favorite venue - drinks... cafe style.

Same price, but not the quality.

Iced Green Tea Latte. It was expected to be poor. I'd say it was milk with some green tea powder mixed in. No crazy flavor either. But, it was different. My one and only in this country.

About mid-way, we took our drinks downstairs to the Dunkin Donuts / Paris Baguette to look for sweets...
Decided against Dunkin (still have a grudge against their donuts).. so, went with PB.

Split the cheese rolls on the left... and I got a "mocha bouchee". Both not particularly flavorful either.. the mocha was better.. but still not a donut, I guess. :P Too bad they didn't have Krispy Kreme xD

Oh well. That wasted some more time.. but still had a good hour or two..

So, we talked. That always eats away our time.

Before we knew it, it was time to grab our bags from storage, get tickets, check them, go through security...

And then wait some more xD.

We had an hour before take-off, so we walked (several times) through the duty free store with all of the expensive mostly American/foreign designer brands. Still had prices in USD...

Anyway - we boarded.. saw some more foreigners (one, an old British man).

Headed home.. quick flight.

Easy easy..

Got to the Gimpo Airport......

And found we missed the bus.

...

:(

So, we were stuck at the airport for another hour and a half... but this time sitting outside in the dark with our luggage + bugs xD. Luckily her parents picked us up.. or else that taxi ride would've eaten our dinner...?

So, in retrospect, I really didn't need to save that money for bus fares :P

But I would've preferred getting home feeling less like a zombie.

I mean, earlier this trip - 1:30AM was chump change.

But after getting up before 8:00AM all week... well, you know how it goes.

Even today, I woke up before 10. Bleh.

But that gave me time to blog.

Now, we're planning to head out and check out the library/shaved ice/more gifts/ etc.

Hope it all goes well.

At this rate, I'll have to convert more money xD

;)

I'll post more later.